What happened the day after Christmas?
I suppose everything went on as you might expect. Mary was very tired, but likely happy to have baby Jesus by her side. Joseph was worried about the taxes he had to pay, and the long journey home. He wondered at the mystery of Jesus' birth, and he wasn't sure whether he should feel awe or terror. The shepherds were moved by the glory of the previous night's events, and spread the news across the hillsides. And, if we're honest, the innkeeper probably had no idea what to do with it all.
But even if everything went as expected, something was different.
God became man.
Eternal, infinite, all-powerful spirit became mortal, limited, oh-so-fragile flesh.
But as spectacular as the birth of Christ was, and as much as it rightly should be celebrated, that is not the end of which the angels sang. It was not the birth of this baby that made Herod want to kill him. No, though the angels rejoiced in the birth itself, they s
The wisemen foretold the rule of a king. (Matthew 2:6)
When Mary was told what would happen, Gabriel spoke of an everlasting kingdom. (Luke 1:32-33)
And when the shepherds heard the good news of Jesus' birth, they were told of a Savior, and then an army of angels sang "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:11, 14)
What is this?
It, "The hint half guessed, the gift half understood, is
Incarnation." (T.S. Eliot, The Four Quartets)
That the eternal Word, the Great I AM, would choose to make himself a little lower than the heavenly beings, moves our hearts. That He would use that for our redemption from pits of sin and darkness, to draw us into his realm of light and truth, at once crushes our spirits with conviction and lifts our eyes heavenward in awe and gratefulness. That He would do all that so that His name would be magnified and his glory made manifest is a truth beyond our mind's comprehension.
See, our celebration of the birth of Christ experiences its climax at Christmas. But that's not the most important thing which we celebrate: we celebrate redemption from sin and damnation unto life and light, to the glory of God.
God's glory and his kingdom are eternal, and all Creation longs for the completion of the redemptive story, when it can realize and celebrate God's glory as it ought.
So what happens the day after Christmas?
We rejoice in redemption. And we do this in three ways. First, we rejoice by worshiping the Lord for his own glory, and for his work in Creating, sustaining, and redeeming the world. Second, we rejoice by proclaiming the message of joy and salvation through Christ. Finally, we rejoice by embracing the work of redemption that the Lord has done and is doing in us.
T.S. Eliot wrote,
"The dove descending breaks the air
With flame of incandescent terror
Of which the tongues declare
The one discharge from sin and error.
The only hope, or else despair
Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre.
To be redeemed from fire by fire.
Who then devised the torment? Love.
Love is the unfamiliar Name
Behind the hands that wove
The intolerable shirt of flame
Which human power cannot remove.
We only live, only suspire
Consumed by either fire or fire."
On this day after Christmas, be consumed with the joyful fire.
The celebration continues!
